Having grown up in the 60′s and early 70′s with the first name of “Dawn,” I was often mistaken, site unseen, or spelling unchecked, for a male version of myself. I was confused for a boy, if they hadn’t met me. This had advantages when I decided to enter the world of amateur athletics. When I signed up for figure skating, I was immediately scouted as a potential pairs partner or dance partner. When I decided to try curling, I was sent the male team ice times and the female teams – guess which was better? I never became an accomplished athlete let alone an elite female athlete, yet I wonder if my experience was a limited glimpse into the world in which female athletes live?

My question is, has this changed over the years? Do we support and honour our female athletes in the same way as we do our male athletes, regardless of the level at which they choose to enter, continue or excel in their area of sport?

My name is now more common for females, and I no longer get assigned an alternate gender, might I assume the world for female athletics has grown up too?

On a recent business trip I was invited to a casual dinner with friends after work. When one travels for a living, any opportunity to eat a meal with true companionship, rather than the day’s issue of “The Globe and Mail” is a real treat. He cooked and she retrieved the additional groceries needed to complete a midweek dinner that has to be slightly more fancy when one invites a “guest.” French bread, rather than none, a balsamic fat-free dressing rather than ranch, and a nice bottle of Shiraz.

As the house exploded with multiple sounds emitted by eleven year old twin girls who were romping upstairs – their parents summoned them downstairs to say hello. As they appeared, all tall and gangly, and with the requisite light application of lip gloss and mascara, they seemed excited to greet me with all their news. It had been over a year since I had last seen them.

They spoke for each other, finished each others thoughts, and then began dragging out cushions and blankets because they wanted to show me how they were doing with their gymnastics pursuits. While they readied themselves for back arches and handstands, the family dog took his place in the centre of their set up doing what dogs do, lying down with a wagging tail and hoping to escape the impact of an off balance twist, but willing to be there, regardless of what fate he was entering into. He was clearly, the family spotter.

The show began – handstands, back arches, bridges, forward splits, sideways splits, all executed with boundless energy and continued critique. Each twin comparing her performance to the other.

“She is better at forward splits, but I do back arches better.”

“Oh, that didn’t work too well today. I’ll try again.”

I enquired what they might like to do with their talents for flexibility. They each had a different answer.

“I want to take gymnastics, but I have to fit it in between our Taekwondo and swimming,” replied one twin.

“You see, we have to take martial arts because our Daddy and Mommy wish us to, and what ever else we take has to fit into all schedules because we can only do so much,” replied the other.

“Currently, we swim, have Taekwondo and we dance,” became the truth of the current schedule.

I was in awe, both for the obvious talent of these two young ladies (one has a black stripped belt, and the other has to break one more board prior to receiving hers) and their parents for allowing them to dream and explore in so many diverse areas of sport.

One might argue that they might therefor become less proficient than if they had focused on just one area, yet, one couldn’t help but be inspired by their obvious interest and contagious enthusiasm for sport.

No couch potatoes girls at this house, just boundless energy, supportive parents, and the ever faithful family dog, who is willing to “spot” any falls these two young ladies might take.

As a mother of three wonderful kids: a preteen son and two teen girls, it has been a pleasure to watch them compete in sports. The many evenings and weekends spent driving the girls to the pool to train and the hours spent travelling to tournaments (the lad goes reluctantly to his twice weekly karate class and has, I think, an allergy to tournaments) have reminded me of my youth and how I loved participating in sports. However, the glory days, like Bruce Springsteen says, “they’ll pass you by”. It’s also possible that my glory days are remembered as a little more glorious than they really were. Still, now that I’m in my forties, I miss the thrill of training and competition.

I suppose there are those ladies who run their families like well oiled machines and manage to compete in each fundraising run that comes along. My family machine has me running to and from the car hoping that I’m not too late for pick up. Or those women who spend their winters swooshing down a ski slope. These are probably the same ladies that get to the bottom of the hill with a beautiful pink blush to their cheeks and have their hair tumble perfectly out from under their toques. My last skiing adventure was less than wonderful. I spent the one and only run I took with my two youngest arguing with them that I couldn’t call ski patrol to take my son down on a stretcher because he “hated it” and arguing with my daughter that we were going to ski the rest of the day because I had spent a pile of money to bring us to this family bonding adventure. Guess who won that battle? I reached the bottom of the hill covered in sweat. My face was blotchy, my nose was running and my hair looked like I had styled it with a leaf blower. The wine in the lodge was lovely by the way.

No, to recapture a little of the old competitive spirit, I’m going to have to approach things from an entirely different perspective. I’ve decided that I want to compete in yoga. Not the Sting version yoga as I’m not that buff. Not the power yoga that you see all those running and skiing moms go to. I can’t bear to do a back bend and besides, I can never find the cool shoes and jacket that go with my faded yoga gear. It’s hard to find your competitive edge when you’re feeling insecure about your shleppy look among the Lululemon set. No, I need to compete within my niche.

I’ve decided that I want to go for Om-lympic gold in yin yoga. I realize that competitive yoga is an oxymoron but that’s okay. It’s easier to win when the others participating don’t even realize it’s a competition. In yin yoga, you hold certain poses for minutes rather than seconds. During those minutes, you are clearing your mind and focusing on your breathing. I have been known to surreptitiously look around me while holding a pose and have noted that I could probably be the best in class at reclined twist or corpse pose. I may have some competition in the forward bend event but in the overall medal category, I have a fighting chance. Also, my yoga wear is downright fashionable in this setting. So now, in my forties, competition and the thrill of victory is all about the right setting. Those poor calm, well adjusted people in my yin yoga class won’t know what hit them.

In November I wrote about the trials and obstacles of starting a girls only sport team.  It was amazing the total skepticism that was shown and the red tape that was placed on our little team package.  Well, I’m happy to say that the players are training hard with two great coaches and are poised to attend their first tournament this weekend.  Not only have we, the parents, negotiated contracts with coaches, training facilities, website developers, and our provincial sport organization, we have funded the whole thing on our own.  All that AND we’ve designed and received the most fashionable hot pink and black uniforms.  The girls look awesome!

It became evident that looking to large funding organizations and big corporations for sponsorship and donations was not going to work.  What should have been obvious to us from the beginning was that the friends and family who know and love these girls were the people who would support the club in fundraising.   Along with the philosophy that no team should have unfashionable uniforms, was the belief that no fundraiser should ever be dull.  The club hosted a pub night that was amazing.  Not only did the supporters have a great time, they willingly opened their wallets and gave the team financial support.  Small businesses that struggle to keep their heads above water donated goods and services to help.  It was heartwarming.   The club, I am happy to say, is financially viable.

Now that we are up and running and are proving ourselves viable, the skepticism is dwindling.  Our provincial sport organization is fully on board with supporting us and providing advice and help when needed.  Other clubs within our sport are becoming aware of us and have been welcoming.  After one year in operation, we can apply for government funding.  The great thing is that we can see year two and the extra opportunities that come with it.

The community at large is learning about our club and the support is growing.  It’s growing to the point where we may be able to offer a boys team in our second year. If that’s the case and the boys become successful, then these new lads can stand proudly on the shoulders of the young ladies who set the foundation for them.  Oh and not to worry, the girls will ensure the boys have stylish uniforms.

The goal of increasing female participation in amateur athletics is a benchmark often touted by sports organizations, government and communities. One would think that starting a new club that focuses on female youth would be a cakewalk for all those involved. On one hand there are eager and talented players, dedicated parents and experienced coaches. On the other hand dwell the provincial and national sports organizations, the government funding bodies and the community sponsors. A match made in politically correct heaven if ever there was one. Right? Think again.

In my little neck of the woods of Canada, a neck that is home to many elite athletes training their way to the Olympics in London by the way, this plan of starting a girls only sport team was covered up by copious amounts of red tape. It has taken much time and effort to peel that tape off piece by piece. First strip of tape reads, “Why do you only have girls in your club?” Second piece politely asks, “How do you plan on growing your club if you only have girls?” Subsequent pieces smugly question, “Are your girls dedicated enough to be elite athletes? Under the current girls only structure, is your club really viable?” The last strip practically screams, “Seriously, why no boys?”

At the risk of exposing the 400 lb gorilla in the room wielding the red tape and thus confronting the underlying issue of unfair bias in athletics towards females, the stalwart parents of the girls explain that creating opportunity and high quality training in sport for females should be supported to the same degree as the boys only teams. Think hockey, baseball, football, rugby, etc. The parents continue with the logic that these girls simply need to be given admittance to the necessary sport governing bodies, to be eligible for funding and to gain the support of community sponsors. The gorilla is still happily ripping off strips of tape….

Currently, this girls only sport team has been granted “conditional” acceptance into their governing sport body. The conditional acceptance isn’t based on any stated and clear conditions as the club’s application met all the requirements. It’s merely based on the feeling that the governing body thinks that the one team structure may not be viable. Well, the team exists. It trains. It pays its bills. What more criteria are needed to prove viability? As for funding to help with tournament costs, the club needs to have been operational for a year before it can apply to the government for funding to help it operate. Does anyone see the irony in this? The gorilla doesn’t. The female players and parents are pinning their hopes on community support. They aren’t daunted by the fact that the first few companies they approached have already pledged their sponsorship money to the local men’s hockey and lacrosse teams. The gorilla doesn’t seem to realize that these hockey and lacrosse clubs are one team only clubs.

Slowly but surely, there are glimpses of pink beneath the sea of red tape. It takes more time and more persistence than any of the club members anticipated but , in the end, it will be worth it. Other parents, players and coaches will see that it can be done. They will have a bit of a trail. In the mean time, can someone wrestle that damn tape from the gorilla?

At the onset of any Olympic Games, out comes the advertising.  It happens every two years and is happening now. We believe…. and cue the expansive cinematography and 800 piece orchestra.  Only problem for me is that Weight Watchers are also running an “I believe…” campaign.  Cue the famous formerly chubby idol, now turned diva Jennifer Hudson, in a shapely array of dresses, singing like a fallen angel from God’s own gospel choir.

“I believe…” if I can lose weight, anyone can lose weight.  “We believe…” in the magic of the Olympics.  Is the branding really all that different?  Each campaign attempts to reach out to the ordinary person in an attempt to involve them in something extraordinary, or capable of producing extraordinary results.

So we have a key to performance summed up by two very divergent causes, each pedaling hope and belief as significant ingredients to achievement of goals.  Without these fundamentals, all the training and information available to anyone remains just that, background.

I have also heard it expressed that all one really needs in the world is something to be enthusiastic about, and then the desire is rekindled and desire is the spark of performance.

Yours from where I am,

Dawn

The best competitions I have been witness to were not segregated.  To see a competition won by someone against someone who is considered top in his or her field is competition in its most dynamic form.  Talent knows not gender and it thrives not on being identified by gender, true talent simply loves to compete.

In working with teams, I frequently face the neophyte talent, who has all the requisite learning, training and some experience.  Often what they lack is the desire to compete.  They wish to be crowned without competition feeling that the judgment of others, or feedback from others, is not as important as the judgment they hold of themselves.  These are not true competitors.  True competitors, in sport, business and everyday life are those who are willing to suffer the humiliation of loss in order to continue to hone and define their competitive spirit.  Their goal is to know that they can and will compete.  Their talent rises or falls based on their ability to grasp the concepts of competitiveness.

The cause for female athletics would argue that women deserve their own venues and right to be their own type of athletes.  I wonder what the athlete themselves would say?  Do they care about female uniqueness or do they care about the right to compete against the best in their fields.

In business, gender equity has worked both for and against females in particular.  If chosen, the female may not be perceived to have fairly won the competition, they may have been handed the position to fulfill a gender equity statistic.  The best and brightest competitors I know are those who line up, shoulder to shoulder with hearts and minds aligned to accomplish the best results, with team members of equal motivation.

Yours where I am!

Dawn

In April of 2011, Canada’s Sport Hall of Fame inducted its latest Class of elite athletes.  Total applications submitted  were for 54 athletes and 28 builders.  From this total, four athletes and one builder were chosen.  Of the four athletes, two were female.

Andrea Neil is from Vancouver and she devoted her athletic life to the field of soccer.  For almost two decades, from 1991 to 2007,  she was present on the international stage representing Canada.  Andrea received honour upon honour for her achievements in her field of sport.

Lauren Woolstencroft is a paralympic.  She represented Canada in three Winter Paralympic Games, 2002, 2006 and 2010.  She began alpine skiing at the age of four and at the time of her induction to Canada’s Sport Hall of Fame she had tied the record for the most gold medal wins of any Paralympian at a single Games.  She achieved this distinction at the Vancouver Paralympics in 2010 by winning five gold medals.  She shares this title with two other female athletes, Chantal Petitclerc and Stephanie Dixon.

It would appear that females love sport.  They love to compete and they love to win.  They are being recognized in equal measure in Canada and this should provide inspiration to the many young females who are now dreaming  – the possible dream.

Yours from where I am,

Dawn

So Serena and Venus Williams are not just well known sisters, they are well recognized elite female athletes. They burst on the seen and crashed the barriers and misconceptions that successful female athletes are women dressed up as men. These female athletes frequent the lists of the ten best dressed female athletes as well as the sexiest female athletes. Are these goals they aspired to? I cannot answer this and yet the contribution they have made extends beyond their statistics and accomplishments, they are distinctly female while they pursue their sport. Also important, is that most people recognize their names, can name their sport, and can remember at least one outfit donned at centre court.

Venus pulled out of the US Open two months ago only to discover that she is suffering from an immune system disorder known as Sjogren Syndrome, the effects of which can cause fatigue and joint pain.

To many of us who can only dream of attaining the level of success in tennis shared by these two sisters, this diagnosis appears ironically. Venus has worked her whole life to shape her success, alongside her sister Serena and now will participate in an exhibition game that would shame our collective tennis skills. Will her diagnosis define her. My guess is no.

Well done Venus. We know you. We love your game, and you have crashed the glass ceiling on what it takes to be an elite female athlete.

Business finds me in Calgary……. Canadian host city of the 1988 Winter Olympics.  Since my arrival five days ago, I have experienced tornado winds, which closed the downtown core due to the glass flying off the office towers, a snow storm, which slowed morning traffic to a crawl, and a Chinook, which caused us to remove the puffy coats that were required the day before.  There certainly extremes of weather here and so it allows time for one to ponder and so I pondered about what I could remember of the female athletes who performed in Calgary in 1988.

While riding on the C train, I saw references to the fact that Calgary is a former Olympic Host City – there were stops named after a few of the more famous venues.  The 1988 Olympics were the place that immortalized the Jamaican Bob Sledding Team – the subject of the movie “Cool Runnings” and the “Battle of the Carmens” on ice.  Katarina Witt, the famous female ice skater from Germany had lost the year prior to American skater Debi Thomas in the World Cup event.  Here they were competing blade to blade in a tightly contested long program, to the same music – yes it was the music from Carmen.  In the distant background was Elizabeth Manning.  She was also skating in the same field, and as a Canadian competing in an Olympic Event with a host city in Canada, had received obligatory coverage.  She was not considered a serious contender, and yet, in that final performance, she excelled and received an unexpected silver medal thrilling her nations’ fans.

Karen Percy, also a Canadian woman skied.  She captured a Bronze medal, when she too was not expected to do as well as one of her Canadian team mates.  Tracy Wilson, and her partner Rob McCall skated to a Bronze Medal victory in Ice Dance, a field at that time dominated by the Russians, and now, in present day by Canadians.

Performance under pressure is such a mystery to watch.  The highly anticipated can fail in precisely the moment they have been training for and the underdog can swoop in.  Isn’t this why we watch sport.  It is the anticipation of thinking we know, when in actuality the medal run isn’t over until its over.  Such was the backdrop of Calgary’s 1988 Winter Olympic Games.   The female athletes provided some mystique, and more than one of Canada elite female athletes found their way to the podium to see their nations flag hoisted.

Could it be there is some magic blown’ in the winds of this city!  Maybe performance does have a sprinkling of pixie dust.

Yours from where I am,

Dawn